Dam forming attachment for lister plows



Nov. 19, 1935. H. w. wE'rzl-:L

DAM FORMING ATTACHMENT FOR LISTER FLOWS I Filed April Il, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 19, 1935. ||w WETZEL 2,021,343

DAM FORMING ATTACHMENT FOR LISTER FLOWS Filed April '11, 1935 s sheets-sheet 2 f/ l f/ v 66 50 i f5 4g i? f i? Nov.' 19, 1935. H, W, WTZEL 2,021,343

DAM FORMING ATTACHMENT FOR LISTER YFLOWS Filed April 11, 1955 3 sheets-sheet 5 55 angle irons. designated i9,

Patented Nov.r

' UNITED STATES PA'lf-ENTv oFFicE 'assi-.w nm rome -a'rracmn'r ron usm nows l nary-w. wehen, neueren; Anims@ am: n, ms, sam No. 15,859 y 1 clam. (ci. sja-ssi greater part, of the western farming territory.

f By forming a series of evenly spaced dams along the furrows formed -by a lister plow, a field so worked will not have its Asoil blown oi! and rain will not drain olf unless the rain comes in clouds-v burst proportions. With this object in view, my

invention consists in 'the provision of a frame having vmeansv whereby it may be attached to a lister plowor any other draft means which frame carriesat its rear en d a scraper and is provided w'lth one or `more eccentric wheels which, 'as the 1 attachment is drawn over the ground, will intermittently'lift the scraper up so that'it will pass over thedam or earth drawn up bythe mp0? f and then allow the' scraper to drop down again 25 immediately in front of the dam and scrape alims until another 'dam been formed.

A further obiect is to provide 4certain detalls of construction and arrangement `of parts which permit of the, attachment beingfreadily repaired whenever necessary, and which tend to cheapen the construction of the attachment.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 4is a plan view of the attachment; Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof;

Figure3isadetailedsectionontheline3-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 41s a side elevation of the inside disk l ofoneofthewheels; Y Figure 5 is -a' fragmentaryV elevation of '-Lhe frame and the axle supmrting bearings thereon, the wheel and axle being removed; l Figure5 6 is a section Aon the line I- I of Ill'igj ure Y 5 Figure 7 is -a fragmentary elevationjshowf ing the scraper disk and its supporting means; Figureis asectiononthelineU-Aofl'lgure 2; Figure 9 is a fragmentary elevation partly in section of the clevis whereby the frame of the attachment may be connected to the plow.

Referring Inow to Figures 1- and 2, it will be seen that my attachment comprisesha frame consisting of two `'parallel longitudinally extending Passing Virons 'Il isja bolt 21.'

'l'hceansleirons at their forward ends are connected to a draft attachment whereby the frame may be connected to a lister or any other plow or, to-a tractor or other draft applying means. The rear end of the frame has disposed between the angle 5 irons III; a lever designated generally Il, this lever, as shown. in Figure 7, being formed of `a single bar of iron bent 'at its middle to form a bight i! and at its upper end, the arms of the 4 il-shaped lever are spaced apart by means of the 10- 'leeve I3 into which a bolt il passes. This sleeve I3,ass`howninFigure7,isintheform ofaT, to provide a nipple Ii from which extends a pipe section il. lMounted upon the angle irons Il, as

shown in Figure 8. is' a transverse supporting'l bar I1. Mounted upon' this 'isx the U-shaped support Il. Disposed between the arms of this U'shaped support is a spacing sleeve il through which a bolt 20I having nuts 2| at its ends. This sleeve lII isalsoin the form of aT20 and extending from this lsleeve is a, rod 22 whichv telescopes intothe'tubular section il and is enmed therewith by a frangible brake-pin It.

These sections II and 22 with th'pin 23 con-- stitute a brace holding the lever Il in a down- 25 wardly and forwardly inclined position. Mounti edin the bight I2 of this leveris a bolt Il which is a stub bolt extending from the rearface of a concave scraper disk 25.

in Figure 9. The draft bar is; designated 28.;

, through the forward ends of the angle35 Surrounding this'bolt is a tubular sleeve 2l and surrounding the sleeve is a `second sleeve 29. Embracing this second "sleeve 2s is the bight'llof a clevis 3|. The lower arms of this clevis are apertured fo them.

passage of a vertical bolt. Mounted upon this bolt is abushing or sleeve I3 having a base por-` tion $4 resting upon the draft bar 26 and havy ing a shank portion which extends up through an aperture 35 in the upper arm of t e clevis. 4,5 111e upper end of the bolt n carries upon it the 'two nuts and. 31, the upper nut being castellated and locked in place 'by a cotter pin Il. Between a.l washer ll and the upper end of the member a compression spring 40 is disposed. 50 This construction permits of the frame composed'ofthe angle irons Il rising andfalling with reference to the draft bar '26 and also swinging` laterally with reference to the draft barand at mesameumepermits meenam-zc tocuand scraper.

and as they rotate, they act to lift the rear end of the frame upward at spaced intervals, hold it up for a moment or so, and then lower the frame A detailed construction of these wheels. is illustrated in Figures 3 and 4l Each wheel comprises a hub 44 and extending from Y the hub is an inner disk 45 which is shown as 20 integral with the \hub. This disk 45 has projecting from it the radial ribs 46 extending radially from the hub, and. between these ribs the inner face of the disk 45 is provided with a plurality of curved seats 41, and associated with each seat 41 are two pairs of radial guide ribs 48. Confronting the disk v45 is an annular disk 49, which is held upon the hub and in confronting relation to the disk 45 by means of the bolts 50. Disposed between these disks are the bight ends of apspokes 5I have the same radius, that two of these spokes are'relatively long, and that intermediate proximately V-shaped strips 5I constituting spokes. pair of spokes and these extend radially outward from the disk, as shown clearly in Figure 2. Disposed between these arms or spokes is a Iseries of plates 53 angled at their ends andl iitting between the spokes inward of the ends thereof and bolted to the spokes by the bolts 54.

It will be seenfrom Figure 2 that eight of these spokes are disposed between these relatively long spokes and the first named spokes. v.lis a conse- .quence, the wheel is eccentric, approximately two-thirds of the' wheel bing concentric to the .axis of the wheel, the remaining third being steeply eccentric. It will be seen likewise that the spokes project beyond the plate 53 so as to tion upon the scraper 2l.'

form lugs adapted to engage in the ground. With this construction, as the frame is drawn forward, the wheels, by traction with the ground, will rotate, but as they rotate, the frame Il willv be ysupported in horizontal position until the `highly eccentric portion of .the wheel engages with the ground, when the framewlll be lifted and held liftedfor a predetermined period and then dropped, and will remain dropped or in its scraping position for a predetermined period and then willbe again lifted, etc. These wheels, as will be later described, are adjustable along the frameso astosecure agreater or'less lifting ac- The construction whereby the wheels are mounted and the means for adjusting these '.wheelsisshownmostclearlyinFlgures3,5

Disposed beneath the 'horizontal flanges of the angleirons Ilarecrossbarsllasshownin Figure 5, anddisposedbelow these crossbars is aV plate Il. '111e axle l1 has a cylindrical middle portion and tapered ends Il which llt within the hubs 44,thewheelsbeingheidinplacebymeans of nuts 5I. The axle passes wooden throush bearing blocks n. aacnmearins block Il at its ends a embraced by u-shaped metallic members Il. assliown in Figure 6, these beingheld in Oiling means,

The two arms of each strip 5i form a place by the bolt 62. Disposed above and below each-block 60 are the plates 63 'having angularly turned ends to embrace the blocks. Extending downward through the cross bars 55, through the plate 56, through the plates 63, and through each block 60, 4are thebolts 64. These hold th'e cross bars 55, the plate 56, the p1ate'63 and the corresponding bearing blocks together as a. unit. Extending over the top of the angle irons I is a clamp plate 65 and bolts 66 pass downward 10 through this clamp plate and through the cross bars 55and the plate 56, thus clamping the axle supporting element to the frame. By loosening the bolt 66, the axle supporting element may be shifted longitudinally of the frame to thus disl5 f pose the wheels nearer to or further from the scraper and thus secure variations in the amplitude of movement of the scraper. A

The construction which I have heretofore described provides an attachment frame which v V may be readily drawn behind a lister plow or any other element constituting a draft element, and as this frame is drawn along, the scraper will be alternately lowered for a relatively long period of time and then quickly raised and then quickly dropped., The scraping disk, as it is drawn along, scrapes up earth ahead of it and until a dam or obstructionv has been formed transversely of the furrow, then the disk is'raised to pass over the dam or obstruction and is again lowered. Thus where this device is used in connection with a lister plow or any other plow, a series of dams is formed in the furrow which will act to hold water .-and prevent the water from running voff and kwhich, because of the fact that they will hold 35 water, will act to conserve previous rainfalls and hold water between the dams thus formed, thus rendering the adjacent soil damp and tending to prevent erosion by winds in case of drought, and

these dams also act to prevent the water from 40 running oil too rapidly from the land.

It will be seen that by using the break-pin 23, provision is made for preventing breakage' of the scraper 25, the lever Il or allied parts, in

case the scraper strikesa stone or boulder or any other obstruction.

'l It will be likewise noted that the plates i1 and Il, being held inplace by the bolt l 1a, may be readily shifted along the frame Il, sol as to dispose the scraper disk at any desired angle found most effective for the work intended. Thus, the

scraper disk may be adjusted to merely scrape,

or it may-be adjusted at such an angle that it will not only scrape but dig the soil as it passes along.

While I have illustrated certain details'of construction and arrangement of parts, I do not wish to be limited to these, as itis obvious that many changes might be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims, though I have found, however,

Y that the details which I have illustrated are particularly practical and permit the structure to be cheaply made and readily repaired.

Thus, I prefer to use the wooden bearings GII because they may be initially cil-soaked, and

thereafter require no oiling and will out-wear any other type of open bearing. The axle 51 rotates within these bearing blocks very slowly and thus little friction is caused. Furthermore, these bearings may becheaply replaced. 'me axle 51 is tapered at Il so that the eccentric portions of `the wheels can be Should the wheels become loose on theaxle, they can be 15 easily drawn up tight by tightening the nuts 59.

What is claimed is:- 1. A furrow dam forming attachment for lister plows including a frame having draft means whereby it may be connected to a lister, the means permitting the rear end of the frame to move vertically, a scraper attached to and depending from the rear end of the frame, and an eccentric traction wheel supporting the frame and acting as it moves over the ground to intermittently lift and drop the rear end of the frame and scraper.

2. A furrow dam attachment including a frame having draft means whereby it may be connected to a draft element, the means permitting the rear end of the frame to move vertically, a scraper attached to and depending from the rear of the frame, and an eccentric traction Wheel supporting the frame, the `traction wheel being adjustable along the frame toward o1" from the scraper.

3. A furrow dam attachment including a frame having draft means whereby it may bel connected to a draft element, the means permitting the rear end of the frame to move vertically; a scraper attached to and depending from the rear of the frame, and an eccentric traction wheel supporting the frame, the traction wheel being adjustable along the frame Atoward or from the scraper, the scraper being adjustable into different angles withrelation tothe frame.

4. A furrow dam forming attachment including a frame having" draft means whereby it may be connected to a draft element, the means permitting the rear end of the frame to move vertically, a scraper attached to and .depending from the rear end of the 'frame, and a pair of eccentric traction wheels supporting the frame, the traction wheels having peripheral radially extending lug-like elements adapted to engage in'v the ground.-

5. A furrow dam forming attachment including a frame having draft means Vwhereby it may be connected to a draft element, the means permitting the rear end of the frame to move vertically, a scraper attached to and depending from the rear end of the frame, a pair of eccentric traction wheels supporting the frame, each traction wheel including `a hub. a disk integral with the hub, an opposed disk, bolts detachably connecting the disks to each other, spokes detachably held between said disks and' extending radially outward therefrom, the greater portion of the spokes having the same radius but certain of the spokes having a longer radius than the other spokes, and plates connecting the spokes and disposed at adjacent ends thereof, the plates 5 mitting the rear end of the frame to move vertically, a scraper attached to and depending from the rear end of the frame, a pair of eccentric traction wheels supporting the'frame, each trac- 15' s. tion wheel including a hub, a disk integral with the hub, an opposed disk, bolts detachably connecting the disks to each other, spokes detachablyheld between said disks and extending radially outward therefrom, the greater portion 2o of the spokes having the same radius but certain of the spokes having a longer radius than the other spokes, and plates connecting the spokes and disposed at adjacent ends thereof, the plates describing an eccentric rim, the spokes project- 25 ing beyond the rim to form ground engaging lugs, one of said vplates having seats for engaging said spokes. y

` 7. A furrow darn forming attachment including a frame having draft means whereby it may 30 be connected to a draft element, the means permitting the rear end of the frame to move vertically, a scraper attached to and depending from the rear end of the frame, a pair of eccentric traction wheels supporting the frame, each trac-l tion wheel including a hub, a disk integral with the hub, an opposed disk, bolts detachably connectlng the disks to each other, spokes detachably held between said disks and extending radially outward therefrom, the greater portion of the spokes having the same radius but certain of the spokes having a longer radius than the other spokes, and plates connecting the spokes and disposed at adjacent ends thereof, the plates describing an eccentric` rim, the spokes projecting beyond the rimto form ground engaging lugs. each pair of spokes being formed by a single V-shaped element, one of said disks having seats for the reception of the bight portions of the U-shaped spokes and having pairs of spaced ribs gg' within hioh these spokes are disposed.

HARRY W. Wm 

